Romania falls one place in global WJP Rule of Law Index

Romania fell one position in the 2020 edition of the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, ranking 32nd out of 128 countries and jurisdictions worldwide.

Romania’s overall rule of law score decreased by 1.5% in this year’s Index, to 0.63. By comparison, its score was 0.64 in 2019, 0.65 in the 2017-2018 edition of the Index, and 0.66 in 2016.

The 2020 score places Romania at 20 out of 24 countries in the European Union, European Free Trade Association, and North America region, and at 3 out of 42 among upper middle income countries.

Denmark, Norway, and Finland topped the WJP Rule of Law Index ranking in 2020. On the other hand, DR Congo, Cambodia, and Venezuela had the lowest overall rule of law scores – the same as in 2019.

Regionally, the European Union, European Free Trade Association, and North America region top performer was Denmark, followed by Norway and Finland. The three countries with the lowest scores in the region were Greece, Bulgaria and Hungary (60th out of 128 countries globally).

The strongest improvements in rule of law were registered in Ethiopia and Malaysia while the largest declines were seen in Cameroon and Iran. Over the last five years, countries experiencing the largest average annual percentage drop in the rule of law were Egypt (-4.6 %); Venezuela, RB (-3.9%); Cambodia (-3.0%); Philippines (-2.5%); Cameroon (-2.4%); Hungary (-2.1%); and Bosnia and Herzegovina (-2.1%).

The WJP Rule of Law Index measures rule of law performance in 128 countries and jurisdictions across eight primary factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice.

“More countries declined than improved in overall rule of law performance for a third year in a row, continuing a negative slide toward weakening and stagnating rule of law around the world. The majority of countries showing deteriorating rule of law in the 2020 Index also declined in the previous year, demonstrating a persistent downward trend. This was particularly pronounced in the Index factor measuring Constraints on Government Powers,” WJP said.

The full Rule of Law Index is available here while the country report on Romania can be accessed here.

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